A woman from Pennsylvania must have thought that her plan was fool proof when she decided to murder her ex-husband’s new wife. It might have been, except for one major screw-up.
The Mercer County Special Investigations Unit received information that 56-year-old Marilyn Zhou of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania was looking for an assassin. On Sunday, December 18, when she was able to meet with a “hitman” in Trenton to do the dirty deed for her, she thought it was a done deal. Unfortunately for Zhou, the person whom she thought was a hired killer turned out to be an undercover police officer.
Zhou allegedly went to Trenton, New Jersey to close the deal with the hitman. To aid him in the killing, she handed him two colored photos of her ex-husband’s new wife, nitrile gloves, and a towel. She also gave him $21,000 in cash and promised to pay an additional $20,000 after the murder.
Zhou also told the man to kill the woman’s 13-year-old daughter, should she be a witness to the murder.
Zhou was immediately arrested, and a warrant was executed by the Pennsylvania State Police to look through her house and belongings. An additional $18,000 as well as the murder items that she recommended to use were found inside the house.
She was charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder and one count of third-degree money laundering.
Police filed a motion to hold Zhou pending trial.
